Thursday, April 15, 2010

Birds of (unusual) prey?


I'm surprised to read that vultures are causing some unusual problems in the Florida Everglades.

Some of the big black birds, known primarily for dining on the dead and decaying, also have developed an appetite for something unusual: Car parts.

Windshield wipers, door seals and — especially scrumptious — sunroof seals. Anything rubber, but vinyl will do, too.

The birds, mostly black vultures native to much of the Southeast, have trashed visitor and staff cars and trucks and the occasional boat at Flamingo, an outpost on Florida Bay. The park has received seven complaints and one lawsuit seeking $700 to cover repairs, but most damage goes unreported.

The problem isn’t unique. Vultures across the country have munched on cars, roof shingles, pool screens and an array of stuff for reasons that biologists admit remains a mystery.


There's more at the link.

I must admit, this baffles me. In Africa, where I come from, I've never heard of vultures eating rubber. They want flesh, and aren't concerned about its freshness, just so long as it once lived and moved and breathed. What on earth would make rubber and plastic vehicle trim so attractive to them? It can't be the taste! Anyone got any ideas?

Peter

9 comments:

Mikael said...

maybe it's something in the smell that makes them think it's rotting meat?

Unknown said...

New world vultures are not related to old ones- they are related to storks, while old ones are relatives of the eagles.

NW vultures are very playful and curious, and that is a possible explaination.

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Whoever these scientists are, they never checked with a chemical engineer!

Vinyl, and most synthetic rubbers, both have butyl compounds in them. Butyl compounds are in the same chemical tree as butyric acid, which is an anaerobic fermentation product often found in body odor and vomit, among other things that scavengers find might tasty.

This is why your dumb dog can't stop chewing on that new hammer's handle, why bears love to eat airplane tundra tires, and vultures will tear up your sunroof seals.

Jim March said...

And ferrets will gnaw on your TV remote, calculator, most car key fobs or anything remotely similar. Usually after stealing same and hauling them back to wherever their current stash-place is.

Anonymous said...

I guess they just have a taste for the expensive things.

Seriously, have you ever had to buy a new door seal for a late-model car? Gee whiz!

Jim

Anonymous said...

Aw come on. Ever tried it? Tastes just like chicken ....

Ritchie said...

Also, rabbits and squirrels sometimes like to munch out on vehicle wiring. Reports have it that the insulation contains soy products.More voltage I say, more voltage!

Firehand said...

(flap-flap-flap)"Stupid tourists. Hey, I've got an idea!"

Anonymous said...

I was going to guess that the vultures were finding some trace amounts of nutrients that they were lacking otherwise - I wasn't aware that the rubber would smell like carrion to them.